The government’s ambitious five years plan between 2012 and 2017 to tap investments worth Rs40,000 crore and creating 11 lakh jobs in the textile sector by 2017 seems set to fall short of its target.

Investments in the total textile projects approved by financial institutions and in various phases of enforcement by March 2017 amount to Rs 16,371 crore, with the potential to generate 2.50 lakh jobs.

According to officials, inaction on part of the government in the initial years and lack of response from investors are among the factors responsible for the short-fall.

To turn the figures around, the government has taken a series of steps, a senior official said. The new textile policy, announced in 2015, makes it mandatory to have textile hubs concentrated in the cotton growing belt of Vidarbha and Marathwada, as opposed to western Maharashtra, to cut down on the cost of transporting raw cotton and other expenses.

With 42 percent of area under cultivation, the government believes that the textile sector has the maximum potential to generate employment. But the lack of infrastructure has lead to only 25 to 30 percent of the raw cotton being processed in the state. Roping in the private sector is one of the measures the government is using to tackle this.

The stress on public-private partnership to boost the textile sector with the concept of farm to fashion has worked in the Amravati division of Vidarbha. At Nandgaon Peth (Amravati), the total investments have crossed Rs 9,000 crore, with the involvement of big players such as Raymond.

Apart from new textile parks and processing units, efforts to restructure and revive loss-making units are also underway.

According to the state economic survey 2016-17, there are 16 textile parks functioning with employment of 0.23 lakh and 10.01 lakh power looms in state with 19 lakh employment.